Laura Gozzi and the Visual Journalism Team
BBC News
BBC
Pope Francis’ funeral will be easier than the previous Pope’s funeral, following the instructions he gave himself.
But as the head of state and leadership of more than a billion Catholics around the world, it will still be a sight of ceremony and tradition.
His death brought famous figures, politicians and thousands of followers to the Vatican City to pay their respects.
What time does the funeral start?
The Archbishop and bishop will begin gathering at 08:30 local time (07:30 BST) at Constantine Wing, adjacent to St. Peter’s Basilica.
At the same time, Catholic priests gather at St. Peter’s Square.
Thirty minutes later, at 9:00 on the site, the Orthodox Church and the Patriarch of the Cardinals gather at St. Sebastian Chapel inside the cathedral where the ruins of Pope John Paul II lie.
They walk through the funeral procession accompanied by the Pope’s co-worker who spent the past four days in the heart of St. Peter Basilica.
The funeral begins at 10:00, when ffin will be placed in the square in front of St. Peter’s Cathedral. The service is led by Cardinal Giovanni Batista, dean of Cardinals University.
Here you can fully follow the order of the services.
Guests and senior officials sit near the cathedral and co-, and around St. Peter Square with thousands of other clergy, resembling the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.
The service ends with Pope Francis’ prayer and final award. This is a prayer to conclude that the Pope will formally entrust to God.
This marks the beginning of a nine-day mourning era known as Novemdiales, who holds a mass every day in his memory.
Who will you join?
Authorities expect at least 250,000 public people to attend funerals, with around 170 state chiefs or governments on their guest list.
Prince William will continue his precedent in 2005, representing King Charles III and attended Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.
The Head of State and Royals include attendees, including US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, King Felipe VI of Spain, Queen and Brazil’s President Louise Inacio Lula da Silva.
How can you communicate from the cardinal to the bishop?
They also have hundreds of members of the clergy, with each group having a specific dress code for the service.
For bishops and archbishops, liturgical suits for funerals include the white tunic held by traditional codes called albu, sinki agents, amicks, short linen cloths that cover the neck, and red chusbull, a strict cape in honor of the Pope. Finally, they wear simple white linen or silk miter on their heads.
Cardinals wear similar clothing, but can be distinguished by a more ornate damask patterned mittle, which looks cream rather than white.
The priest wears simpler clothing and a long scarf over a tunic called red stealing.
Orthodox church leaders, or patriarchs, wear unique styles of Mitre, capes called Saccos, and ornate fabrics called Omoforion, in colour according to a particular tradition.
How did Francis change traditions?
After the service, Francis’ body is worn with a red chasable and damask and a golden pope miter – is transported to the cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome for burial. He will become the first pope since Leo XIII, who died in 1903, was buried outside the Vatican.
Traditionally, the Pope’s body would have been surrounded by three nested ffins made of cypress, lead and oak the day before the funeral.
Cypress’s co-symbines humility and mortality. The outer oak co, a sign of “dignity and strength” and lead ffin, was welded to maintain the body and prevent tampering.
However, last year Pope Francis requested that he be buried in a simpler wooden ffin with zinc interior.
This is a ffin that can be seen at funerals.
Getty Images
According to Monsignor Diego Labelli, master of the Vatican liturgy, the request further emphasized that the Pope’s funeral was not a powerful man in this world, but a shepherd and disciple of Christ.
Why did Francis choose a burial site?
Pope Francis was a Jesuit – a Catholic religious order of priests known for their dedication to education and missionary work.
He is also a follower of the Virgin Mary, and therefore he chose to be buried at Santa Maria Magiaore, outside the walls of the Vatican in the heart of Rome.
The church is home to the Virgin Byzantine icon Sarus Potpuri Romani.
Getty Images
In his will, written in 2022, Pope Francis states: “Through my life and during my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always entrusted myself to our Mother of Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
“I wish my last earthly journey to the end precisely in this ancient Marian Reserve, where I pray at the beginning and end of every apostle’s journey, leaving my intentions to a pure white mother, and thanking her for her calm and motherly care,” he writes.
On his first day as Pope in 2013, Francis left the Vatican and prayed at Santa Maria Maggiore.
Although seven Popes are buried in the same cathedral of decorated tombs, the Argentine Pope asked, in the side passage, between the Pauline Chapel (Chapraise of Sarspopri Romani) and the Sforza Chapel, and near the statue known as Mary Regina Pasis (Queen of Mary).
“I have always sought help and the embrace is near the Queen of Peace, whom I have always sought help and whom my sacred sought over a hundred times during my holy sect,” he explained at his will.
The Pope also sought his tomb to be on the ground, carrying only the inscription “Franciscus,” a simple, Latin version of the name he chose.
